JAMES MILNER will switch to the number 20 shirt at Brighton & Hove Albion this season in honour of his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who passed away in a car accident in Spain last month.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva lost their lives in early July when their Lamborghini left the road and caught fire in northwestern Spain. The Portuguese forward had worn the number 20 during his successful spell at Liverpool, where he and Milner shared the dressing room for three seasons before the English midfielder moved to Brighton in 2023.
“Once I heard Carlos (Baleba) was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and obviously pay tribute to Diogo Jota,“ Milner said.
“(He was) an amazing player I was fortunate to play with and a great friend as well. So it’d be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League.”
Liverpool have announced they will permanently retire the number 20 following discussions with Jota’s wife, Rute, and his family. The number will no longer be used at any level, including the women’s team and academy.
Milner, 39, recently extended his contract with Brighton for another year and is closing in on Premier League history. With 638 appearances, he is just 15 games short of surpassing Gareth Barry’s all-time record of 653. – Reuters
